


scars

by stabbystars



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Angst, Cross-Posted on Tumblr, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Lowercase, Nightmares, talks of emotional abuse, talks of physical abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:27:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25909600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stabbystars/pseuds/stabbystars
Summary: aaron wakes from a nightmare and you help work him through it.
Relationships: Aaron Hotchner/Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 44





	scars

your eyes blink awake at the sound of whimpering beside you. aaron is whining and shifting in his sleep, muttering incoherent words. you can’t make out anything he’s saying, his tone sounds almost like he’s begging, pleading even. his brows are furrowed together as if he’s wincing. you’ve seen him experience nightmares before but nothing even close to this. he needs his rest but you decide that he shouldn’t have to suffer whatever he’s dreaming about alone.

“aaron? sweetheart, wake up. i’m right here,” your tone of voice is soft as you gently shake his shoulder in an attempt to wake him up, “c’mon, aaron.. open your eyes for me, baby.”

he gasps as he wakes with a start, tears filling his eyes immediately. he looks so  _ scared _ and it’s breaking your heart. 

“honey? hey, i’m right here.. you’re safe,” his lip quivers at your words, “talk to me, love. nightmare?” 

he opens his mouth to speak but no words come out, a quiet whine comes from his throat and his tears start pouring down his cheeks. he tries to hide his face in his pillow to muffle the sobs. your eyes widen at the sight in front of you. you reach towards him and cup his face in your hands, forcing him to make eye contact with you. he looks  _ broken _ .

“aaron.. oh, sweetheart, what’s wrong?” your questions make him sob even harder. you move to wrap your arms around him and pull him up into a sitting position with you. his head buries into the crook of your neck and his strong arms hold your body as close as possible. your fingers gently brush through his hair, you know he loves the feeling. you’re whispering small reassurances to him, that he’s safe, that you aren’t leaving him. 

he mumbles something into your neck, his words are so soft and broken up sobs that you can’t hear him.

“what was that, love?” you gently pull his head back so that he can get his words out. 

“..they hurt.” his voice is raspy and so  _ small. _

“what hurts, aaron?”

“t-the scars.. they h-hurt so bad..” the sobs had turned into sniffles and a shaky voice now. you assume that he means the scars left by foyet, that bastard. 

“oh, honey. i’m so sorry, i wish i could wipe that bastard from your memories-” 

he whimpers, causing you to be quiet, “n-no.. not t-those,” he pulls back further, slips his shirt off and turns his back to you, “t-these ones.” his back is littered in scars of various sizes. big, long ones and shorter bursts of scar tissue. you had seen them before but now they bring tears to your eyes. he never explained how he had gotten them, you assumed because of his line of work they were from that. you reach out and brush your hand against his back, avoiding the scars for the time being. his muscles tense but he doesn’t flinch away,  _ ‘touch is alright for now, i can work with that.’ _

you place your hands on his shoulders to gently spin him around to face you, “aaron.. who gave you these? you don’t have to tell me but i want to help you, sweetheart.” 

his tears start anew, “my d-dad.. he gave them to m-me when i was younger.” he tries to breathe through his sobs, the choking sounds interrupting him every other word. 

“oh, aaron.. please come here,” he inserts himself into your arms immediately, shaking like a leaf. “you’re safe here. he isn’t here, you’ll never be around him again. you don’t deserve what he did to you.” 

“h-he always made me feel like such an a-awful kid, whipping me e-every night. i was dreaming about h-him coming back and h-hurting me again,” his words sound muffled and shaky against your skin, “and h-he mocked me for he marks that  _ he _ made on my s-skin. called them u-ugly. i f-feel like a sewn together doll.”

you press a kiss to his temple, “oh, honey, no. you’re gorgeous, your scars don’t make you ugly. they show how strong you’ve been. you shouldn’t have had to endure the pain he inflicted upon you at all but look at you now, you’re stopping men like him everyday. you’re saving these kids, your strength is admirable, aaron. thank you for telling me this, i love you so much and i’m never going to stop,” his cries had calmed down into softer sniffles through your small speech. “can i touch them, big guy? if you feel uncomfortable at any point just tell me.”

“of course, (y/n). i trust you.” you can feel him tense when your fingers first brush up against one of his bigger scars. your hand runs up and down the length of his back, feeling the rough skin against your palm. 

“can you lay on your stomach for me, honey? you can still stop me at any time,” he nods silently and moves to lay down. his back is fully exposed to you now, the scars look like tiger stripes in the moonlight that poured through the windows. you start by mapping them with the tips of your fingers, “i’m so proud of you. so so proud of you, my love.” 

his muscles start to relax at your gentle ministrations, his breathing evening out. once you’re done tracing all his scars with your fingers you lean down to pepper kisses all over his back. he whines at the touch of your lips against him, “you’re doing so well, big guy. i love you so much.” you continue kissing his scars, each and every one of them. his breathing has evened out into a gentle pace, his muscles completely relaxed under your tender care. he’s on the edge of consciousness, you’re whispering sweet reassurances to him as he’s falling deeper and deeper off that edge. 

“i don’t have the words to describe how much i love you, aaron. i’ll always protect you and be here for you. you’re the brightest light in my life, you’ll never lose me.” your words barely reach him as he makes the final drop into deep sleep. 

you’ll always love him despite his scars, the emotional and physical ones.

**Author's Note:**

> please come talk to me on my tumblr @sapphicstars !


End file.
